Base Gas Estimator CLI

A free, open-source command-line tool to estimate gas costs on Base network in ETH and USDC.

Note: Costs are displayed in USDC (USD Coin), the native stablecoin of Base. 1 USDC ≈ $1 USD.

✨ Features

• 🚀 Zero-cost gas estimation for Base mainnet and Sepolia testnet
• 💰 Real-time ETH/USDC pricing via CoinGecko API
• ⚡ Lightning-fast estimates using ethers.js and Base RPC
• 🔧 Developer-friendly CLI with clear error messages
• 📦 No API keys required - completely free to use
• 🌐 Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• 🎯 EIP-1559 compatible with accurate fee calculations

🚀 Quick Start

Get instant gas estimates without installation:

npx base-gas-estimator transfer --to 0x742D35cC6634c0532925a3b8D4c9Db96C4B5Da5e --value 0.1

📥 Installation (Optional)

Install globally for faster access:

npm install -g base-gas-estimator
base-gas transfer --to 0x742D35cC6634c0532925a3b8D4c9Db96C4B5Da5e --value 0.1

🧪 Usage Examples

Base Mainnet (Default)

# Estimate 0.1 ETH transfer
npx base-gas-estimator transfer --to 0x742D35cC6634c0532925a3b8D4c9Db96C4B5Da5e --value 0.1

# Estimate 1 ETH transfer
npx base-gas-estimator transfer --to 0x742D35cC6634c0532925a3b8D4c9Db96C4B5Da5e --value 1.0

Base Sepolia Testnet

# Test on Sepolia
npx base-gas-estimator transfer --to 0x742D35cC6634c0532925a3b8D4c9Db96C4B5Da5e --value 0.01 --network base-sepolia

Help & Options

# Show all available commands and options
npx base-gas-estimator --help
npx base-gas-estimator transfer --help

📊 Sample Output

Gas Units: 21,000
Gas Price: 0.001897 Gwei (1,897,000,000 wei)
Total Cost: 0.000039837 ETH (~0.000150 USDC)

🌐 Why Base?

Base is Coinbase's secure, low-cost, builder-friendly Ethereum L2 built on Optimism. With significantly lower gas fees than Ethereum mainnet, Base enables:

• Affordable DeFi transactions for everyday users
• Scalable dApp development with Ethereum compatibility
• Seamless onboarding via Coinbase's infrastructure
• Growing ecosystem of innovative Web3 applications

This CLI helps developers and users estimate transaction costs before executing, enabling better financial planning and user experience optimization.

🛠️ Development

Run Tests

npm test

Local Development

git clone https://github.com/logiccrafterdz/Base-Gas-Estimator-CLI.git
cd Base-Gas-Estimator-CLI
npm install
node src/cli.js transfer --to 0x742D35cC6634c0532925a3b8D4c9Db96C4B5Da5e --value 0.1

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! This project aims to be the most reliable and user-friendly Base gas estimation tool. Here's how you can help:

• 🐛 Report bugs via GitHub Issues
• 💡 Suggest features for better developer experience
• 🔧 Submit pull requests with improvements
• 📖 Improve documentation and examples
• ⭐ Star the repo to show support

Development Guidelines

• Keep dependencies minimal (currently just 3)
• Maintain zero-cost operation (no API keys)
• Follow existing code style and patterns
• Add tests for new functionality
• Update documentation for changes

📜 License

MIT License - feel free to use this tool in your projects, commercial or otherwise.

🌟 Join the Base Builders Spotlight

Your project can be featured in the community directory!

npx base-gas-estimator spotlight --register

🔗 Links

• GitHub: Base-Gas-Estimator-CLI
• npm: base-gas-estimator
• Base Network: base.org
• Base Docs: docs.base.org

Built with ❤️ for the Base ecosystem

Notes

• ETH price is fetched from CoinGecko's free API (ETH/USD used as USDC equivalent).
• For standard ETH transfers between Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs), the gas limit is fixed at 21,000. If the RPC's eth_estimateGas call fails (e.g., due to missing from context), the tool safely defaults to this standard value.
• Gas price uses EIP-1559 fee data (gasPrice or maxFeePerGas) from the RPC.

Project Structure

Base-Gas-Estimator-CLI/
├── src/
│   ├── cli.js          # CLI command parsing and execution
│   ├── estimator.js    # Gas estimation logic using ethers.js
│   ├── price.js        # Fetch ETH/USDC equivalent from CoinGecko
│   └── utils.js        # Helper functions (address validation, number formatting)
├── package.json        # Includes "type": "module" and "bin" field
├── README.md           # Usage and Base-focused context
└── .gitignore

Error Handling

• Invalid address → clear message to fix input
• RPC failure → friendly retry message
• Price fetch failure → prints ETH-only costs; USDC becomes (~N/A USDC)